Ben Affleck leaping from Hollywood to US Senate?

Washington, Dec 25(ANI): Media pundits are talking that Ben Affleck may enter in to politics amid speculation over who will run for John Kerry's US Senate seat if the Massachusetts senator moves over to the State Department to serve as President Obama's foreign affairs chief.

The actor-director, who seems to be reaching a new career peak behind the camera, has not revealed weather he would have an interest in trying for elected office or not.

Affleck if agrees on being involved in the govt, he would reportedly face significant challenges: a lack of any previous political experience running for office; the need to raise cash quickly (or use his own); and a crowded Democratic field.

He grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and currently owns a home in the Bay State, but under state law he also wouldn't need to establish legal residency until Election Day, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

The filmmaker, who has long campaigned for Democratic candidates and who majored in Middle Eastern studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles, will not be the first actor to enter in politics.

Television actor Ronald Reagan is the most successful and well-known actor-turned-politician.

The 65-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger, has already finished two terms as California governor and has returned back to acting.

There's Sonny Bono, the musician and actor who was elected mayor of Palm Springs, California, before twice being elected a US congressman.

The 'Law and Order' star Fred Thompson, who played a US president three times in his acting career, served in the US Senate for eight years and later ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008.